Harsimrat Kaur Badal, minister of food processing industries, inaugurated the first mega food park in Telangana on Thursday. Promoted by Smart Agro Food Park Pvt Ltd, it is located in Lakkampally, a village in Nandipet Mandal of Nizamabad District.

Rameswar Teli, minister of state for food processing industries; Arvind Dharmapuri, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Nizamabad, and A Jeevan Reddy, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Armur constituency, Telangana, were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Badal said that the mega food park will leverage an additional investment of about Rs 250 crore in 22 food processing units in the park and generate a turnover of about Rs 14,000 crore.

It will also provide direct and indirect employment to 50,000 youth and benefit about one lakh farmers. Mega food parks shall facilitate the doubling of farmers’ incomes by 2022, which is a primary agenda of the Government of India in the field of agriculture.

Badal said, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is an initiative by the government of India, in which all small and marginal farmers will get up to 6,000. The Telangana government is also providing financial support to farmers, ultimately the farmer will be benefited.

Mega food parks shall further complement the Government’s scheme by reducing post-harvest losses, and hedging the farmer’s risk. They shall provide gainful employment to women, and hence, help support their livelihoods, she added.

Neem-coated urea can bring better paddy output, I will discuss with the agriculture minister about the neem–coated urea supply issue in Nizamabad district, and I try my best to reach the neem–coated urea to the farmers of Nizamabad, Badal said.

She added that the under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) was focussing on boosting the food processing industry, so that the agriculture sector would grow exponentially and become a major contributor to doubling the farmers’ incomes and the Make In India initiative of the government.